CHELSEA was once again held at home in another performance that leaves Thomas Tuchel with more questions than answers.
They will find out that without Romelu Lukaku and Edouard Mendy their team would have lost to Brighton tonight.
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Lukaku opened the scoring with a header from a corner and was excellent in every department – acting as a brilliant focal point allowing his teammates to play him.
And the Blues relied on Mendy and Trevoh Chaloba to keep them ahead as Brighton slowly began to put pressure on the Chelsea backline.
But they could only do so because of a toothless Chelsea midfield, with Jorginho and Matteo Kovacic found guilty of delivering the ball into a dangerous position.
And Brighton got their reward for a good performance when substitute Danny Welbeck topped the last minute draw.
This is how SunSport’s Keelan Hughes rated Chelsea’s performance.
Edouard Mendy – 8
Chelsea were kept busy after taking the lead but Brighton threatened mainly from long distance.
Saved some and looked comfortable when it came to collecting the set-piece – couldn’t do anything about the target. Distinctive Mendy performance.
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Reece James – 5
Lasted only 25 minutes and as soon as it stopped, he looked in great pain.
But he didn’t seem comfortable playing on the left-back and was exposed several times by Tariq Lamptey.
Caesar Azpilicueta – 5
Almost scored in the 17th minute but Robert Sanchez reported his strike to the Post.
Soli March had a rough second with it often getting the better of Christian Pulisic.
Andreas Christensen – 6
A steady presence on the back that allowed Rudiger to move on whenever he felt like it.
But yet another injury took him out early, with Tuchel confirming that his back problem had returned to haunt him.
Antonio Rudiger – 6
A couple of rash tackles but he leaves the goal and dominates in the air in his own box. A brilliant block to stop Neil Maupay, while Mendy was on his way back to his goalline.
But he lost his man twice as a result of his poor defense with both Jacob Moder and Maupe.
Christian Pulisic – 7
A completely different role for him at right-wing-back after playing up-front in the last two games, and at times exposed his lack of defensive awareness.
But he supported Mount well in the attack and the pair was Chelsea’s main threat, along with Lukaku.
Jorginho – 4
Quiet performance from the Italian with Brighton enjoying most of the possession.
The defensively poor in favor of Graham Potter enjoys too much freedom in and around the Chelsea box at times.
Matteo Kovacic – 4
Looked a bit rusty and on a couple of occasions drove the ball away slowly.
Chelsea would have liked N’Golo Kante from the start as Kovacic was particularly unable to deal with Brighton’s high press.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6
Brighton got into trouble at the break but his last ball let him down.
This was best performed when he was running in the second half and was one on two with Mount, but instead of scoring himself he tried to play in his teammate – only to intercept the Brighton defender. For.
Mason Mount – 7
Connected brilliantly with Lukaku and scored several clever runs to stretch the Brighton backline.
Provided a superb delivery with his first corner of the game to assist Lukaku’s goal.
Romelu Lukaku – 9
Shows exactly what Chelsea have lost in recent weeks – a goal in front.
served as a focal point that allowed Mount and Hudson-Odoi to follow behind what Tuchel wants from his attack.
And the striker showed his dominance in the box when he went into the corner of Mt. in the 28th minute.
later stages
Marcos Alonso – 5
Struggled to deal with Tariq Lumpty who was Brighton’s best player.
The attack also didn’t offer enough, which is probably why James got permission to start.
Trevoh Chaloba – 8
Brighton posed a lot of danger in the second half but handled the pressure well despite the lack of protection from Jorginho and Kovacic.
Tuchel may have felt worse when Christensen wound up with Thiago Silva, but Chaloba once again showed maturity beyond his years.
N’Golo Kante – 8
A crucial time came when Brighton began to dominate the ball and Chelsea camped out in their own half.
It was no surprise that Chelsea began winning the ball over the top of the pitch when it came on, easing the pressure on the last four.
Moved well and could score with a little more restraint.
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